Why is it that magazines display unhealthy people on magazines?

Why are the unhealthy ones considered 'hot'? I notice that it's either the really skinny ones or the plus size ones. I never see someone who looks 'average'. Now I don't hate the girls in magazines, and I think it's a great start to start displaying plus size models too, but what I don't get is why they never put a model who's average looking?

Most Helpful Guy

1. Magazines and ads are selling a fantasy, not reality. The "average" doesn't motivate people to buy magazines or products from ads, only the out-of-the-ordinary does that. When have you ever read an ad that promises you an AVERAGE experience with a product?

2. The fashion industry is ran by women and gay men. The tastes of straight men aren't taken into consideration nearly as much as they'd like you to believe, and women often have a distorted view of themselves.

Actress Amanda Seyfried was recently talking about how she was "motivated" to lose 10 pounds when she started getting movie roles in Hollywood, and as a result, she lost her big boobs, and she knows she doesn't look as good as she did when she was 10 pounds heavier. Her face is much more hollow too. But Hollywood takes its cues from the fashion industry, and so they push for tiny, stick-thin people (men too, in many cases), even though many of us would rather see a few more pounds on these people.

I remember when Jennifer Aniston lost about 10 pounds post-Friends, and I thought she looked AWFUL, and the morons on TV (Hollywood women, specifically) kept going on and on about how great she looked "without the extra weight". I came close to throwing a shoe through my TV that day.

Think about this: Almost no Playboy Playmate could be a fashion model; they'd be considered "too short and too big". But men buy Playboy, and women by fashion magazines. So the real question is: why do women support these magazines that don't show real women?

Yea, I think I saw the interview about Amanda Seyfried. So wait, does that mean guys aren't attracted to the women in magazines? Cos you said the tastes of straight men aren't taken into consideration. Yea, I to think that it's in facy an illusion. I think it would be great if they showed models of all size and shapes! That way we'd know which product or outfit sells well with which body.

Men find those women somewhat attractive, but I think, on average, we'd find slightly bigger, curvier girls more attractive. 100 of the same stick-thin women gets old really quick for us. We like to see some variation.

What Guys Said 7

They try to SELL magazines, and people want either the unrealistically thin girls, who look the best in most designer clothes, or, more recently, the plus sized girls who are dying to look glamorous, and will snap up these magazines ifr they show big girls looking blamorous.

There's not much of a market for the average girl, who isn't desperate to look like anyone else so much...she's [pretty happy just being herself!

hm, yea that is pretty interesting. Society though makes me feel that girls who are skinny yet healthy aren't accepted either. Like I accept people who look healthy, but not those who don't take care of themselves. I myself am very healthy, yet I can't ever seem to get bigger. Seeing girls my age bigger makes me feel like I'm not normal, even though media potrays 'skinny' or anoraxic as normal. I'm not anoraxic or anything, but I've always been tiny.

but average is 'us'. If magazines try to sell stuff, they should try to at least show that normal people are also beautiful. Being unhealthy may seem appealing yet unattractive if you actually look at what models go through to seem 'skinny'.

You sell things to people by making them wish they did not have what they do have. Think of it as a car commercial; are you really ever going to get a symphony to play as you drive 120 mis. through the desert? No. But it looks cool, so cool that you want the item that did it, so you buy the car. In this case if you can't be the model and you wish you were her then you will do what you can to get as close to that image as you can, therefore buying the clothing.

Oh but it is wrong. Advertising is the most evil profession a person can undergo because it's the (literally) art of making other people unhappy or unsatisfied. The entire purpose of advertising is to cause distress. If a person sells their product at a fair and speaks only the truth about their product, which some vendors do, they often sell very little. Now if the same product has a savvy businessman about it who can tell you how great it looks on you, etc. and convince you of this... well...

true, and what's even worse is that it's all lies. the producs aren't as good as they appear, and the clothes are all either too large or too big that was in the magazine. and photoshop is their best friend

You are correct. Lying is the core of advertisement. Greed is it's vehicle. In countries where greed is not as strong advertising is not as big a business. Also people live happier and more moderate lives. It's odd because we know, as humans, through our own sciences and studies, that people are happier when they have what they need and are not driven by greed to attain more than what they want.

Yea, I totally agree with that. I think I was happier in my hometown because there was less of the new things such as mac and big computers and all of them. And I wasn't as conscious about what type of 'brand' I have to wear unlike here. I think simplicity in life is the root to hapiness rather and complexity and 'competition'.

I completely understand. Some time ago I let go of the capitalist in me and I've never regretted it. You really are happier when you're not "worrying" about what others think of your clothing and whatnot. I dress decently and no one has ever given me crap about it.

I prefer to dress however I want to. I think I have many different styles as I myself am not sure of who I am now. But I never cared nor care about the new brands or whatsoever any of those expensive outfits. I still don't see the value of buying a gold necklace or a diamond necklace. For me as long as something looks simple yet aesthetic, its 'brand' is not important.

You and most people. Why the urge to keep up with the trends is present I don't quite understand myself; there is reasoning but I don't know it well enough to explain it to anyone. A lot of people feel the way you do but also feel the requirement of changing how they feel as though it were wrong and contrary to social norms. Maybe it is I guess? Presentation means a lot for quite a few.